


'Tis the Season to be Jolly and Joyous

by xonceinadream



Category: Glee
Genre: Christmas, Kid Fic, M/M, Married Couple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27830485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xonceinadream/pseuds/xonceinadream
Summary: Having a family and thriving careers is difficult in the best of times. Christmas season is both the best and worst time of the year.24 connected chapters for Klaine Advent 2020.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22
Collections: Klaine Advent 2020





	1. Day 1: Abashed (December 2020)

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays! ♥
> 
> Title from the Muppet Christmas Carol.
> 
> All works will be posted unedited and will likely be edited in January. Excuse all mistakes. ♥
> 
> Also will bounce between years with the prompts. They'll all be in the same verse. Check the chapter title for the year.

Kurt was exhausted, reaching up to rub his eyes. Rehearsals were in overdrive in preparation for their opening night coming up and Oliver had decided that sleep was for the weak. While Blaine and Kurt tried to switch off nights, get some sleep while the other dealt with their kids, they both had a hard time sleeping when the other wasn’t in bed and they simply couldn’t sleep when their child was crying.

He opened the front door of their home, stepping inside and starting to pull off his outerwear. It wasn’t quite cold enough to snow but it was still enough for a coat and gloves considering it was already dark by the time Kurt was getting home. His schedule would be less frantic once the show actually started and he couldn’t wait, wanting more chances to be at home with Blaine and their kids.

“Honey, I’m home,” Kurt called out in a playful tone, yawning as he set his gloves down next to the door.

There was a loud bump from the living room and Kurt frowned as he toed out of his shoes.

“Don’t come in here!” Blaine yelled, voice high-pitched and… fearful? 

Was it fear that Kurt heard in his husband’s voice? He felt his heart start pounding, concern weaving through his tired bones as he carefully headed towards the living room. Was there something wrong with Audrey or Oliver? Surely Blaine would’ve called him… unless something had just happened?

“I hear your footsteps, stop!”

Kurt snorted, knowing there was no way his husband actually thought Kurt would stop right then. Blaine knew him better than that. Feeling nervous, Kurt peeked his head around the doorway and froze for a moment before stepping fully into the room.

“What the…?” 

Blaine pressed his lips together, cheeks flushed with embarrassment and that had been what Kurt had heard in his tone. They rarely got embarrassed around each other anymore. They’d been together too long, seen each other in too many uncomfortable moments. Every step in their relationship, living together, being engaged, getting married, having kids, had presented new experiences and they’d learned to go with the flow.

This moment, though… Oliver was in his baby swing, babbling away with his little fists in the air. Blaine stood, as if in shock, just a few inches away from Audrey, hands held out towards her. And Audrey was grinning at Kurt from the middle of the living room, tinsel wrapped around her completely. Tinsel that had previously been wrapped around the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree that had previously been standing next to the window and was now laying on its side, shattered ornaments all around it, lights still blinking.

“Hi, Daddy! I Christmas!” Audrey said, twirling a bit as Blaine groaned, reaching down to grab her before she could lose her balance and fall onto broken glass.

“I told you to stop moving, Audrey,” Blaine told her, lifting her up into his arms, tinsel trailing behind them as Blaine tentatively moved through the living room towards where Kurt was standing.

Kurt could only stare at them, at Blaine’s crimson cheeks, at Audrey’s self-satisfied smile, before his lips were twitching, laughter threatening to erupt from him. “Hi, Audrey. Care to share what happened?”

Huffing out a breath, Blaine held out Audrey and Kurt obediently took her, resting her on his hip. She seemed only too happy to be passed off to Kurt, resting her head on his shoulder as he pressed a kiss to her hair.

“From what I’ve gathered, she wanted to dress up like Christmas. I thought that meant with her Christmas nightgown. I told her that was fine and went to pick up Oliver so we could go upstairs and…” Blaine gestured towards the Christmas tree, sighing as he stepped carefully over the glass to pick up the baby, still gurgling in his swing.

It was Blaine’s careful steps that made Kurt lose it, having to reach a hand up to steady Audrey, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Blaine let out a groan that just made Kurt laugh harder, hearing Audrey start to giggle just because he was. He leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead, straightening up and laughing again when he saw Blaine’s petulant expression.

“Kurt, stop. It’s really not that funny,” Blaine whined although Kurt could see the way that his lips were threatening to turn up into a smile of his own. “We spent hours decorating.”

Kurt shrugged, holding out a hand and helping Blaine the rest of the way across the living room floor, stepping forward to press a quick kiss to the corner of his husband’s lips. “We knew the tree coming down was a possibility. That’s why we hid all of our nice breakable ornaments and put these ones on. Although, maybe we should’ve gone for plastic. Besides, this makes up for the time that you came home to find the entire kitchen covered in finger paint.”

Blaine let himself smile at that, shifting Oliver a little bit in his arms so he could wrap his arm around Kurt’s waist. “Okay, you’re right. That was pretty bad. Not quite as destructive since it washed off pretty easily but… bad,” Blaine said, shaking his head as he reached out his free hand to begin unwrapping the tinsel from Audrey, as much as he could with her still in Kurt’s arms.

“Let’s go upstairs. Audrey, do you want to wear one of your Christmas nightgowns?” Kurt asked, glancing at Blaine but having to look away so he wouldn’t laugh again.

His husband’s cheeks were still tinted pink.

Audrey shook her head, reaching out to grab the tinsel that Blaine was starting to pull off her. “No. Christmas!”

“You can’t wear the tinsel to bed. But maybe Daddy can make you a dress that’s shiny like tinsel. How about that?” 

Audrey nodded, although Kurt didn’t think she fully understood what he was saying. It was just as well and Kurt mentally put it on his list as he headed towards the stairs. Blaine followed behind them and Kurt gave his hips a little shake, hearing the chuckle that followed behind him.

They had their nighttime routine down to an art, both of them always home before bedtime every night. Neither of them wanted to miss their goodnights or leave the other parent to have to put both children to bed. Kurt gave Audrey a bath while Blaine changed Oliver into his pajamas before they reconvened to lay Oliver down together.

Ever since they’d had their son, Audrey had wanted to be as involved as she possibly could. She kissed his forehead along with both of them and tucked his covers around him. Kurt lifted her up so Blaine could resituate Oliver and then they both tucked their daughter in. It was nice, simple, and Kurt turned the Christmas themed nightlight on in her room before they left, a Christmas tree reflected on her wall.

Although Kurt wanted nothing more than to go to bed, he wasn’t going to leave Blaine to clean up the mess so Kurt changed into pajamas before meeting him back in the living room. 

“I feel ridiculous,” Blaine muttered as he picked up some of the bigger pieces of glass.

Kurt chuckled, holding out his hand so his husband would get the hint and stand up with him. Although they’d turned off the lights on the tree, lights were still flashing outside and Kurt pulled Blaine close, reaching a hand up to cup his cheek. “You look ridiculous,” Kurt confirmed playfully, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips. “Hi. How was your day? Other than the end, of course.”

Blaine shook his head, letting his head fall forward to bury his face in Kurt’s neck, body becoming a little heavier in Kurt’s hold. Kurt shifted so he could hold onto Blaine’s weight, swaying them slightly. “It was fine. Audrey’s preschool is doing a Christmas concert, I’ll give you the day, it’s in the afternoon so you should be able to attend, and she’s been singing Deck the Halls for the past 12 hours. I never want to hear it again.”

“Does that mean I should start singing it now?” 

“I’d prefer you didn’t,” Blaine said although Kurt could feel him smile against his skin. 

“‘Tis the season,” Kurt began singing, laughing when Blaine poked him in the side, right where Blaine knew he was ticklish. 

When Kurt kept singing, Blaine just smiled, lifting up his head to cut Kurt off with a kiss.

Kurt was more than fine with that. When he was a teenager, he would’ve thought a night like this was a disaster. But kissing Blaine with broken Christmas ornaments around them, a fallen over Christmas tree, tinsel scattered, exhausted beyond belief, felt like just another memory he’d look back on someday and smile.


	2. Day 2: Brake (December, 2020)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Probably pushing the limits of 'brake' as a prompt but the word is included and I really wasn't getting anything out otherwise. I started this at least a dozen times.

Blaine leaned back against his husband, resting his hands on top of Kurt’s and looking up at the sky. It was freezing, likely to snow that night, but Blaine and Kurt didn’t have a lot of time to just be together lately. They had thought they were prepared to have a newborn but it was harder than either of them had imagined. Neither would change it for the world but they tended to sleep whenever they could nowadays.

“Sometimes I miss being able to see the stars in the sky,” Kurt murmured, his chin resting on Blaine’s shoulder as he tangled their fingers together. 

“What? You don’t like just seeing brake lights and skyscrapers when you look outside at night?” Blaine teased, yawning and tilting his head against Kurt’s. He was tired and he knew they would be going inside soon but both seemed to be prolonging as much as they could, not wanting vacation to be one day closer to over. Blaine just hoped Audrey wouldn’t wake up as soon as they went inside so they could get some sleep.

Kurt laughed softly, shaking his head and squeezing Blaine’s hand. “I mean, yes, I do,” Kurt said honestly which didn’t surprise Blaine. The two were meant to be in New York and thrived there. Now that they’d both found their place, it was their home and would be for at least the next few decades, if not for the rest of their lives. “But I miss the stars. It’s probably the only thing I miss about Ohio. Do you ever miss it?”

“Skyscraper lights?” Blaine asked tiredly, curling up a little bit against Kurt and feeling his husband shift to accommodate him, holding him closer to try to keep the chill away. 

A quick kiss on his cheek and then Kurt was shaking his head. “No. Ohio. Do you miss Ohio? You moved here when we broke up, moved in with Dave. Was this someplace you wanted to live?”

Blaine wrinkled his nose, pulling Kurt’s arms a little tighter around himself. It wasn’t that he tried to pretend those few months hadn’t existed but he didn’t like thinking of them. Those experiences were part of their relationship and he knew they’d both needed that opportunity to grow, but he wished things had been different. “I moved in with Dave because I was upset and wanted to be close to somebody when all I wanted is you, first of all. We’ve talked about this. I never planned on staying in Ohio. I had already applied for NYU. I wanted to go back to New York. I’ve always wanted to be there,” Blaine said quietly. “Why would I want to be in Ohio? I hate Ohio. I’d hate to raise kids here.”

Even when they’d been broken up, every time, Blaine had always planned on being in New York. 

“Just making sure,” Kurt murmured, tapping his fingers against Blaine’s in a way that he did when he was feeling somewhat nervous about what he was saying. It was something endearing, especially because Blaine appreciated that they could continue the conversation instead of running away from things the way they might have when they were teenagers. “Being here just makes me wonder if New York City is where we want to be forever.”

Blaine frowned, pulling away from Kurt so he could look at him, immediately regretting it when the cool air hit him. “Do you miss Ohio? Do you want to live here because I mean… I don’t really want to raise our kids here but I suppose we can talk about it. Maybe Cleveland instead of Lima, at least. We’d still be close to-”

“I don’t want to live in Ohio, Blaine, don’t worry,” Kurt said with a shake of his head and a little grin, tugging Blaine back towards his body. Blaine went willingly, although he stayed far enough away that they could still look at each other. “I still want to live in New York. I was just thinking about my childhood home. I love this house but moving in my teens because our house was tiny wasn’t very fun. And you grew up in the house your parents are still at.”

“Yes…” Blaine said slowly, not quite sure where Kurt was going with this. 

The indulgent smile Kurt was wearing was rather adorable and Blaine couldn’t resist leaning forward to kiss him. “I think we should buy a house. I like our apartment, I do. It’s home and has been for a while. But I want somewhere we can paint the walls and know our kids will grow up there.”

Blaine couldn’t deny the idea sounded nice. They’d talked about buying a home when Kurt had graduated and again when Blaine had but they’d decided they liked their apartment. They’d been living there ever since they’d returned to New York, newly married and ready to start a life together again. The idea of moving again, starting over in some ways, scared Blaine. But then, he supposed he’d been learning to deal with a lot of fears lately, especially since Audrey had been born.

“We could paint the ceiling to look like stars. There will still be sirens and cars hoking but it’ll kind of look like this,” Blaine said, already able to picture it. Between the two of them, Kurt was the designer and was generally the one with the great ideas but they’d learned to compromise since their first time living together. “Or, ooh, those glow in the dark stickers.”

Kurt wrinkled his nose, although he looked more amused than anything. “Did you have those glow in the dark stars when you were younger?”

“Until Cooper and I got in a fight and he stood on a chair and tore most of them off my ceiling,” Blaine said with a shrug, reluctantly standing up and holding out his hand for Kurt. The cold was starting to get to him and, judging by the speed in which Kurt took his hand, it was getting to his husband as well. Blaine reached down to grab the baby monitor they’d set outside with them before they quietly headed inside.

They were the only two awake, although they were sure Audrey was going to be waking up anytime. She’d had a hard time falling asleep in a new place and Blaine and Kurt had both walked with her, bounced her, sang to her, and finally laid with her to hold her while she’d cried from frustrated exhaustion. At least they hadn’t seemed to disturb Burt and Carole, who’d gone to bed earlier.

Once they reached the guest bedroom, Kurt peeked into the bassinet to make sure that Audrey was still sound asleep before grabbing his pajamas to join Blaine in the bathroom to change. 

“Of course, you did. And of course, Cooper did,” Kurt said, continuing the conversation they’d been having as he undressed. He yawned, rubbing his eyes as he hoped his father wouldn’t wake them up early the next morning in some weird Christmas morning tradition. When Audrey inevitably woke up would be early enough. “I imagine Audrey will want to choose her own decorations as she gets older. We have time. I’d just like to get settled, not move again. We’ve done enough of that to last me a lifetime.”

Blaine nodded as he brushed his teeth, unwilling to think about their daughter growing up. When he was done, he leaned against the counter, yawning and watching as Kurt grabbed his own toothbrush. “We can look into it when we get home. No use dwelling on it now. I’d much rather enjoy our vacation.”

“The prospect of buying a house isn’t your idea of a relaxing vacation? I suppose that’s just because I’m older than you,” Kurt teased, giving his husband a smirk in the mirror. 

Unable to think of a witty response with how tired he was, Blaine just smiled, looping his arms around Kurt from behind and resting his cheek against Kurt’s back. With his free hand, Kurt rested his on top of Blaine’s and caressed Blaine’s skin with his thumb. Blaine stayed like that until Kurt was done brushing his teeth, pressing a kiss to Kurt’s back when Kurt put away his toothbrush.

“Come on, love. Let’s see if we can get a little sleep before Audrey wakes up again,” Kurt whispered, tangling their fingers as they headed towards the bed.

They laid down together with Kurt on his back, tugging Blaine over him. There was silence for a few moments as they adjusted themselves, pulling the blankets over to get warm and comfortable.

“We could get some glow in the dark stickers that look like skyscrapers and brake lights instead,” Blaine whispered as he settled against his husband’s chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart under his cheek. There was nothing quite as comforting to Blaine as the feeling of being pressed against Kurt, knowing they were together, in love. It was cheesy but Blaine supposed the Christmas holiday was the best time to be cheesy.

Kurt chuckled quietly underneath him, twirling his fingers in Blaine’s curls. “You are-” Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the sound of their daughter start crying. Blaine sighed and Kurt smiled. “For that remark, you can get up for her, Mr. Hummel-Anderson.”

“Well, when you put it like that…” Blaine teased, leaning up to kiss Kurt sweetly before standing up to walk towards the bassinet.


	3. Day 3: Careless (December, 2025)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is ridiculously cheesy and fluffy. Warning you now.

Blaine picked through the candy he and Kurt had bought for the kids’ stockings, unwrapping a chocolate covered marshmallow and popping it into his mouth. “These taste like they’ve been sitting in a warehouse for three years,” Blaine said as he dropped three into each stocking and then unwrapped another candy.

Kurt looked at him, completely unamused, before shaking his head and putting a pack of crayons in Oliver’s stocking. “They probably have been. I can’t believe you’re eating that. We have fancy chocolates up in the bedroom,” Kurt said, a pack of markers going into Audrey’s stocking next.

“Yeah, but they don’t have marshmallows in them.” Blaine chewed on the chocolate, his nose wrinkling as he thought about how much it tasted like cardboard. He really didn’t have any clue why he couldn’t stop eating it but he figured he probably should.

He picked up another one.

“Don’t shame marshmallows by trying to say that is a marshmallow,” Kurt told him, hooking a few candy canes on the edge of both kids’ stockings to finish them up. He lifted them to make sure they looked right and pushed a few of the lumpier toys inside to flatten out the stockings. While he’d learned early on that picture perfect was impossible when it came to children, he still tried. Blaine just smiled indulgently, gathering up his wrappers and counting presents to make sure they’d brought them all down to put underneath the tree.

“Don’t shame my cardboard chocolate,” Blaine told him, a playful smile on his lips as he nudged one of the presents further under the tree with his toe to make sure nobody would trip over it in the morning. 

Kurt was just standing up to hook the stockings back up when they heard the very loud, very high gasp from the top of the stairs.

“Daddy? Papa? What’re you doing?” Audrey asked, still rubbing her eyes. She had a confused expression on her face as she took in the chocolate scattered on the floor, the stockings in Kurt’s hands, the wrappers in Blaine’s. “Has Santa come already? He won’t come if you’re downstairs! Why’re you playing with the stockings?”

Neither of her fathers had to say a word because they both knew what the other was thinking. They were _awful_ parents. Their 6-year-old was going to have the magic of Santa Claus ruined because they were too busy flirting to hear her bedroom door that they’d closed open and her footsteps in the hallway.

They exchanged a look, both of them obviously trying to come up with something, before they looked back up at their daughter.

Their daughter whose lower lip was starting to wobble, a sure sign she was going to start crying soon.

“Santa’s come already!” Blaine said quickly, the story coming to him quickly as he cleared his throat, giving Kurt a look.

Kurt had no idea where he was going with this but he trusted his husband completely so he nodded. “Yeah, Santa’s come already.”

Audrey looked between the two of them as Blaine gave her his most soothing smile.

“You see, here’s what happened. Santa came and then your Daddy started craving chocolate… You know how he gets,” Blaine said, ignoring the glare he could feel his husband sending him. “So… we decided we’d sneak into your stocking but then we went to the store to get some more chocolate for you. We were just replacing the candy that Santa left you.”

Audrey sniffled, making her way slowly down the stairs as she tilted her head to the side. Blaine put the wrappers still in his hand onto the coffee table and met her at the bottom of the stairs, scooping her up into his arms. He was infinitely grateful that she was too young and too tired to think about why that story made no sense. “You went into my stocking for chocolates?”

Kurt quickly hooked up both stockings before joining them, rubbing Audrey’s back gently and leaning in to kiss her cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Blaine behind her back. Blaine pressed a kiss to Audrey’s forehead so she wouldn’t see him almost laughing. “Daddy just really wanted Christmas chocolates.”

Tilting her head to the side, Audrey considered Kurt in a way that made her look much older than her 6 years. “You said Santa already came? I still got presents even though you saw him?” 

“Yep, you still get Santa presents, don’t worry,” Kurt assured her, reaching up to run his fingers over her dark hair. It was dark and curly like Blaine’s and tended to tangle the second she laid down. “And there’s plenty of candy in your stocking. I looked.”

Audrey smiled, leaning forward to give him a wet kiss on the cheek. “Then it’s okay. You can have some chocolate, Daddy.”

Kurt felt his heart melt and he smiled, rubbing his nose against hers to make her laugh. “I think Santa just saw you be so sweet and might stop by to drop you off another present,” Kurt told her, holding out her arms and taking her when Blaine shifted to hand her over.

“I like more presents,” Audrey said happily, making both of her fathers laugh. 

“I could’ve guessed that,” Kurt told her, tickling her side gently. He yawned, looking over at Blaine who nodded, turning away to get everything cleaned up. Kurt headed towards the stairs, walking carefully with her in his arms. “You need to go back to sleep, though, if you want Santa to drop off another present. And remember, you’re not supposed to come down on Christmas Eve. Me and Papa should’ve reminded you.”

A solemn nod before Audrey rested her head against Kurt’s shoulder. “Okay, Daddy. I’m sorry. I was just excited.”

Kurt was constantly amazed by the overwhelming love he felt for his children and now wasn’t any exception. He walked into her room, laying her down in the bed and helping pull the covers over her. “It’s okay, Audrey. You know Papa and I are always happy to see you,” he told her, tucking her in and pushing her curls off her forehead. “Get some sleep. In the morning, we’ll make cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate and open so many presents your head will spin.”

“I don’t want my head to spin,” Audrey said, wrinkling her nose in a way that reminded Kurt alarmingly of Rachel. 

“Okay. Then it won’t spin your head. It’ll just amaze you,” Kurt promised, kissing her forehead. He glanced up when Blaine joined them, the other kneeling down next to them and leaning in to kiss their daughter’s cheek. “Sweet dreams, sweetheart. I love you.”

“Sweet dreams. Love you,” Audrey said, holding out her arms for both of them to give her one more hug. 

Blaine squeezed her gently before pulling back. “Love you. See you in the morning,” he told her, reaching out to rest a hand on Kurt’s back as the two left the room. He peaked back in, making sure Audrey’s nightlight was on before closing the door most of the way. Kurt was glancing into the nursery, seeing that Oliver was still fast asleep and then joining Blaine in walking into their master bedroom.

“Everything all put away down there?” Kurt asked, yawning as he went immediately to the bed, exhausted from staying up to make sure everything was set up for Christmas. And, of course, the possibility of them ruining the magic of Christmas for their daughter because of their carelessness. 

Blaine nodded, crawling into bed next to him and snuggling in closer, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips. “Yeah,” he said, whining a little when Kurt pulled away from him.

“Great. So, how about you tell me why it was me that was getting into her candy when you were the one who was eating cardboard marshmallows,” Kurt said, making sure Blaine could hear the sarcasm in his tone when he said the word ‘marshmallows.’

Ducking his head, Blaine had to swallow hard so his husband couldn’t see the way he was about to start laughing. “Because I came up with the story,” Blaine told him, lifting up his head again even though he still had a wide smile on his lips.

Kurt shook his head but he couldn’t help his answering smile. Even so many years later, Blaine could still get a smile out of him just by being so adorable. “That’s not fair. Next time I’m coming up with the story.”

“How about next time we put a baby monitor in her room so we know when she’s getting up?” Blaine asked, having already thought about the fact that this wasn’t something he wanted to experience again. He knew there wouldn’t be that many years left of Audrey believing in Santa Claus, although they’d have Oliver after, so he didn’t want to ruin this for her.

“And that’s why I love you. Your genius ideas,” Kurt said with a smile, tugging Blaine a little closer and tangling their legs. “Now, I’m already sure Audrey is going to be waking up every hour to try to get us to go open presents so I’d recommend sleeping while you can.”

“And your genius ideas are why I love you,” Blaine teased, kissing Kurt one more time before laying down. He watched as Kurt closed his eyes, unable to help admiring him for a few long moments before he smiled, going to sleep himself.


End file.
